d.thinking Ponts ParisTech is a new program in design thinking at École des Ponts ParisTech.

While there is no one exact definition, design thinking is the human-centered approach to create new value through the designer’s sensibilities and methods. We believe that design thinking in the 21st century will match human needs with the incredible technological capabilities we developed in the 20th century. To find out more about design thinking, we suggest the HBR article on Design Thinking by Tim Brown (.pdf link), Fast Company article on David Kelley and the Stanford d.school, or Roger Martin’s presentation at the AIGA design conference.

We are part of the ever-spreading design thinking movement in industry and academia and are inspired by the newly forming d.schools around the world. In particular, the d.school at Stanford University and Hasso Plattner Insitute in Germany have influenced us greatly.

d.thinking Ponts ParisTech launched in 2009 and in the spirit of design, it is a continuous prototype. We are part of the ME310 network/course, participating in projects with Stanford University, Hasso Plattner Institute, and Aalto University's Design factory. In addition, our course Innovactors focuses on breakthrough innovation for sustainability. Design pedagogy includes future forecast and design fiction methodologies and tools. Students tackle abstract issues in sustainability to conceptualize and visualize new realistic worlds of the future. Besides courses, we are also running several workshops and lectures to spread design thinking in Paris and around the world. More details on our activities will come in our next iteration of the website.

We are just at the beginning of d.thinking Ponts ParisTech and always looking for more people to join the movement and take design thinking to another level. Interested? Contact us!